Egyptian pro-Gaza activists face terrorism-related charges

An Egyptian prosecutor has remanded 16 political activists in custody, pending further investigations into terrorism-related charges after they joined a pro-Gaza protest earlier last week outside the headquarters of the Journalists' Syndicate in downtown Cairo.

The activists, including men and women, were detained late on Wednesday 3 April, and in the early hours of the following day, and accused of "joining a terrorist group" and "spreading false news," the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms said in a statement.  

The  detentions are believed to have been triggered by slogans the protesters shouted against the government  of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and influential figures close to the government.

Marking 180 days of the Israeli attack against the Palestinian Gaza Strip, hundreds of activists and journalists during last week's protest chanted against what they described as "the inaction of Arab leaders" against Israel, which has killed over 33,000 people in Gaza, most of them women and children

The protesters called on Egypt's government to indefinitely open the Rafah border crossing, Gaza's only connection to the outside world, for more humanitarian aid to be delivered and for injured Palestinians to cross into Egypt for treatment.

Palestinians in Gaza are facing the threat of famine and have severely restricted access to healthcare. Many people, mostly children and infants, have died of hunger.

Since the Israeli war on Gaza erupted on 7 October last year, Egypt has frequently been criticised for only allowing critical cases and foreign and dual nationals to enter the country from the besieged coastal enclave as the brutal war on the Gaza Strip continues.

No official statistics have been made public about the exact number of Palestinians who crossed into Egypt since the offensive broke out.

Egypt, the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1979, is currently among the few parties talking to both sides as a critical mediator.